GDHQNHL15_2pg-Nashville Predators 2

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Star defender led the Predators
in points last year with 56 (23
goals, 33 assists), making him one
of three defensemen to lead their
teams in points, the others being
Erik Karlsson for the Ottawa
Senators and Keith Yandle for the
Phoenix Coyotes. With a focus
on a more offensive-style of play,
Weber could be primed for a career
year this season.
Weber isn’t the only player
of note in this group. Weber’s
defensive partner Roman Josi has blossomed into a top-pair defenseman
in the league. Coming off of a campaign where he put up 40 points (13
goals, 27 assists), the future looks bright for the Swiss-born Josi. Playing
with the Norris-caliber Weber has shown an uptick in his offensive
production. At only 24-years old, the Predators are hoping he takes
the next step in his development and becomes a household name
around the league.
Josi isn’t the only young blue-liner to patrol the back end of the
Nashville defense. Another player to keep an eye on this season is
second-year player Seth Jones. At 19-years old, Jones shows enough
promise to be a potential top-pair two-way defenseman in the league for
many years to come. In his inaugural season, Jones had six goals and 19
assists. While he still needs to understand the nuances of playing in his
own end, there is still a lot to like about this young player.
Goaltending
Pekka Rinne was limited to only 24 games last season after he
underwent surgery to repair his hip from infection during the season.
After missing the playoffs by only three points, the Predators are hoping
that a healthy Rinne will allow them to make the post-season for the
first time in two years. The 6-5 Rinne is a huge presence in the net.
When healthy, Rinne is one of the elite goaltenders in the league. In
2011-12, Rinne had 43 wins, a goals-against average of 2.39 and a save
percentage of .923. If Rinne can return to form, then the Predators have
a legitimate shot to crack the top four of the Central Division and make a
return to the postseason.
Carter Hutton filled-in admirably for the injured Rinne and
impressed enough to be a nice security blanket should anything happen
to the Finn this year. Hutton, in 40 games played, had 20 wins, a goalsagainst
average of 2.62 and a save percentage of .910.
Power-Play
Despite having a revamped lineup, the Nashville Predators should
have the potential for a top-ten power-play unit. Even with all of their
scoring issues, the Predators finished 12th in the league last year as they
converted 19.2 percent of their power-play opportunities. With a whole
new cast of characters, the Predators have the ability to improve on
their standing.
With Shea Weber manning the point, the unit will have some
continuity and a big playmaker to run the play through. To say Weber
was productive on the power-play is an understatement. Of his 56 points,
nearly half (26 points) came from being on the man-advantage. Even with
the roster turnover that the team will experience this year, a lot more of
the same can be expected out of the 29 year-old captain.
Penalty-Kill
With a team that has focused so much on the defensive zone for
almost their entire existence in the NHL; the expectation would be
that having a good penalty kill would be second nature. Over the last
two seasons, this thought has not proven to be the case. The Predators
have finished 29th and 25th in back-to-back seasons. That ranking does
not begin to tell the story. In the strike-shortened 2013 season, the team
killed only 75.7 percent of penalties and had only a slight improvement
in 2013-14 with an 80.3 percent success rate.
A big help to the penalty-kill will be the return of Pekka Rinne in
goal. If Rinne can return to pre-surgery form, the shorthanded unit will
be all the better for it.
Prediction
Playing in one of the toughest divisions in the NHL and adjusting
to a new head coach is not a recipe for success. The Predators will
be better in 2014-15 as long as older players perform as expected,
but they will be fighting for a playoff spot at the end of the year.
Scoreboard
2013-14 2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10
PLAYOFF FINISH DNQ DNQ Conf SF Conf SF Conf QF
REGULAR SEASON 38-32-12 16-23-9 48-26-8 44-27-11 47-29-6
POINT TOTAL 88 41 104 99 100
SHOOTOUT RECORD 2-9 2-6 5-5 6-4 8-4
GOALS SCORED 216 111 237 219 225
GOALS ALLOWED 242 139 210 194 225
POWER PLAY % 19.2 17.1 21.6 15.2 16.4
PENALTY KILL % 80.3 75.7 83.6 85.0 77.1
James Neal
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